Jaishankar says India backs early ceasefire in Gaza war, voices support for two-state solution

India supports an early ceasefire in Gaza and it has consistently stood for resolution of the Palestinian issue through a two-state solution, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.

In his opening remarks at a meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Jaishankar said the situation in West Asia is a matter of “deep concern”, particularly the conflict in Gaza.

The external affairs minister described Saudi Arabia as an important force for stability in the region.

Jaishankar and Al Saud co-chaired the second meeting of the Committee on Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation (PSSC) held under the framework of the Strategic Partnership Council (SPC).

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The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said both sides discussed avenues to strengthen the India-Saudi Arabia strategic partnership, especially in the areas of trade, investment, energy, defence, security, culture and consular matters.

In his remarks, Jaishankar said Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 hold complementarities for the industries of the two sides to build new partnerships.

“Trade and investment are important pillars of our partnership, and we are strengthening our collaboration in new areas including technology, energy, renewable energy including green hydrogen, connectivity, health and education,” he said.

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Al Saud is on a two-day visit to India.

On the situation in Gaza, Jaishankar said any response must take into account the international humanitarian law.

“The situation in West Asia is a matter of deep concern, particularly the conflict in Gaza. India’s position in this regard has been principled and consistent,” he said.

“While we condemn acts of terrorism and hostage taking, we are deeply pained by the continuing death of innocent civilians. Any response must take into account the international humanitarian law. We support an early ceasefire,” Jaishankar said.

“India has consistently stood for resolution of the Palestinian issue through a two-State solution. We have also contributed to the building of Palestinian institutions and capacities,” he added.

Delving into India-Saudi ties, the external affairs minister said both sides maintained a good tempo of high level engagements and coordination across multilateral fora.

“Our defence partnership has witnessed several ‘firsts’ over the past few years including the first ever land forces joint exercise 2024; and two editions of our joint naval exercises,” he said.

“We had regular exchanges on training and capacity building. And our cooperation has now expanded in the field of defence industry and exports as well,” he said.

Jaishankar also noted steady growth of security cooperation between the two sides.

“We are collaborating in counter-terrorism, combating extremism, terror financing, and drug trafficking,” he said.

“We welcome efforts to promote culture, tourism and youth exchanges. And we see considerable potential for cooperation in the field of media and entertainment,” he said.

In the meeting, the two sides also deliberated on issues relating to the G20, the BRICS, the IMEEC (India-“Middle East-“Europe Economic Corridor) and other regional and global issues.

In his opening remarks, Jaishankar said India and Saudi Arabia have a similar interest in preserving the stability of the region and in driving the economies towards greater prosperity.

“We have maintained a good tempo of high level engagements and coordination across the multilateral fora. The Indian community in Saudi Arabia is 2.6 million strong, and I take the opportunity to thank you for their welfare and comfort,” he said.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said Al Saud highlighted the establishment of the Strategic Partnership Council between the two countries and that it paved the way for a new era of cooperation across various fields.

It said Al Saud underlined the importance of coordination and collaboration on issues of mutual interest, particularly in areas related to international peace, security, and economic development.

The Saudi foreign minister expressed his confidence that strengthening cooperation would serve the two countries’ mutual interests.

“The meeting further discussed the agreed-upon initiatives outlined in the meeting’s minutes, which included enhancing cooperation in political, consular, defence, military, judicial, security, social, and cultural fields,” the Saudi readout said.